Survey: Fewer young Minnesotans smoking, drinking

Fewer young Minnesotans are taking part in risky behaviors than in years past, according to the latest Minnesota Student Survey.

Last year, more than 160,000 students in grades 5, 8, 9 and 11 took part in the survey, which covered a wide range of topics from smoking, drinking and sexual behavior to how much students work. It also asked students if they had been bullied and how often they send text messages.

Among the findings was that 14.2 percent of ninth-grade students drank alcohol one or more times in the 30 days before the survey, down from 18.6 percent in 2010, the last time students in that grade were surveyed.

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Every Hand Joined is a Sustaining Network Member of the StriveTogether network. This national organization works with communities nationwide to help create a civic infrastructure that unites stakeholders around a shared vision of the future and a common set of goals and measurements of success for every child, cradle to career.